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Icelandair now offering bids to upgrade 10 days before flight

Icelandair now offering bids to upgrade 10 days before flight

Old Feb 22, 2017, 7:42 pm
  #31  
 
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I wonder if you can bid less and succeed?
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Old Feb 23, 2017, 12:39 pm
  #32  
 
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Oops duplicate.
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Old Feb 23, 2017, 12:41 pm
  #33  
 
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While this seems to be a running commentary mostly with myself, hopefully the info is helpful to future others.

I bid $325 for the transantlic segments and $225 for the KEF-CPH segment, and $150 for the CPH-KEF, which was the minimum bid.

Next to the slider, they have a meter which provides five zones; red, orange, yellow, light green, and bright green, indicating your chances of success based on prior history.

All but my "minimum" $150 bid were at the low edge of the light green "zone."

Not sure what the point of bidding $150 for the CPH-KEF segment is if the deep red zone really means "no chance," but I'm trying to test/learn. Also, why do they even have a red zone? It's not as if these bids start at zero. $150 was the minimum bid...but judging by the meter, you'd think the practical minimum is more like $260+???

After submitting your bids, you need to provide your credit card info.

They say they will inform you of the results between 48 and 72 hours from departure? Wonder if this is by segment, or if they clear the whole itinerary at this point?

Also, you get a confirmation email after you submit with links to change you bid(s).

Will advise as things progress.
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Old Feb 23, 2017, 2:09 pm
  #34  
 
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If you are successful in bidding up, do you get ticketed in the higher class and earn more miles (for those of us crediting to AS)?
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Old Feb 24, 2017, 3:52 am
  #35  
GVA
 
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Originally Posted by nologic
While this seems to be a running commentary mostly with myself, hopefully the info is helpful to future others.

I bid $325 for the transantlic segments and $225 for the KEF-CPH segment, and $150 for the CPH-KEF, which was the minimum bid.

Next to the slider, they have a meter which provides five zones; red, orange, yellow, light green, and bright green, indicating your chances of success based on prior history.

All but my "minimum" $150 bid were at the low edge of the light green "zone."

Not sure what the point of bidding $150 for the CPH-KEF segment is if the deep red zone really means "no chance," but I'm trying to test/learn. Also, why do they even have a red zone? It's not as if these bids start at zero. $150 was the minimum bid...but judging by the meter, you'd think the practical minimum is more like $260+???

After submitting your bids, you need to provide your credit card info.

They say they will inform you of the results between 48 and 72 hours from departure? Wonder if this is by segment, or if they clear the whole itinerary at this point?

Also, you get a confirmation email after you submit with links to change you bid(s).

Will advise as things progress.
I'd say if you put in the minimum bid for all flights the chances are fairly good you'll get an upgrade. Not that many people bid for upgrades and the prices are fairly expensive for what is a very average product.
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Old Feb 24, 2017, 8:48 am
  #36  
 
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Originally Posted by GVA
I'd say if you put in the minimum bid for all flights the chances are fairly good you'll get an upgrade. Not that many people bid for upgrades and the prices are fairly expensive for what is a very average product.
That was my initial inclination, but then I looked at the predictability meter and the minimum bids, which are like $240 for transatlantic and $150 for intra-Europe are in the red zones, which seems to indicate the chances are nil/red, not just "low?"

The flights seem very open, as I can book at least 9 seats in Saga on each of them. I'd love to modify the nids to the minimums. Does anyone know anyone who's bid the minimum? To me, the minimum should mean "minimum acceptable bid unless you get out bid by others," which is where I agree with your comment that there probably aren't that many upgrade bidders, and the minimum, or minimum plus $10, should suffice???
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Old Feb 26, 2017, 5:55 pm
  #37  
 
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Very surprised that there isn't a documented track record of reported class up experiences and prices paid like there is for Priceline.
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Old Mar 1, 2017, 6:28 pm
  #38  
Val
 
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I am flying from ORD-KEF Friday, March 3rd. Originally ticketed in economy. I believe the minimum bid for Economy Comfort was $140. I bid $155 for each of my 2 parties. It was accepted.
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Old Mar 2, 2017, 5:34 pm
  #39  
 
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1) Tonight, at T-73 hours before my departure for my first segment BOS-KEF, I received an email that my $275 Class Up bid for an upgrade from Economy Class to Saga Business Class was accepted (which I wasn't expecting until T-48 hours). The bid was at the low edge of the "yellow" range for potential bids (see next post below for further explanation). I was instructed that I can get my Saga seat assignment when online check in opens, presumably at T-24 hours.

I don't know how many seats were actually available before my upgrade (there are 25 Saga seats on this 767-300ER), but I was able to potentially book 9 Saga seats earlier today, so there were at least 9 Saga seats available before my upgrade.

Now that I have been upgraded, I can still book 9 Saga seats on this flight, so there were at least 10 Saga seats available at that time -- either Saga Class on the flight is very empty or not many people actually bid to upgrade.

So, I have a sense I could have "won" this upgrade for considerably less money, much closer to the $195 minimum bid, but I decided I wouldn't be very happy losing over $25-50, so that's how I settled on $275.

2) My 8AM connecting flight to CPH the next morning, which is also a 767-300ER, is only showing 7 Saga seats currently available, so I am not feeling as good about this flight. Hence I've upped my bid to $225 which is in the middle of the yellow zone, and supposedly I will hear the result of this Class Up bid in the middle of the night tonight. I presume the airline holds back 2-4 seats for last minute full fare PAX, so I may be competing with multiple people for 3 or 4 seats (max 7 seats). Thus, I feel I have to be a little aggressive, but there are so few actual reports out there by other bidders, which is why I am documenting and sharing this experience for others to better determine their bidding strategies.

My 3rd segment back from CPH to KEF is showing sold out in all classes, so I will be sticking with economy and won't bother bidding for an UG.

My final segment home from KEF to BOS is also looking very open (also currently showing at least 9 seats available for purchase in Saga). Currently my bid is also at $275. I'm not sure whether I will stick there or toggle my bid down slightly, if the flights still shows at least 9 open Saga seats at T-73+ hours.

Stay tuned.

Last edited by nologic; Mar 2, 2017 at 10:37 pm
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Old Mar 2, 2017, 10:15 pm
  #40  
 
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A few fun facts regarding the ranges for potential Saga Class Upgrade bids:

The total range for upgrade bids are as follows:
BOS-KEF (or KEF-BOS), 5 hours: $195-485
KEF-CPH (or CPH-KEF), 3 hours: $150-370

As I have indicated, the Class Up website provides an "Offer Strength" meter with 5 zones (red, orange, yellow, light green, and bright green), indicating the the range of "past successful offers for similar flights, subject to availability and airline discretion. It does not indicate in any way that a specific offer will be accepted for your flight."

The "red" zone runs from:
BOS-KEF (or KEF-BOS), 5 hours: $195-225
KEF-CPH (or CPH-KEF), 3 hours: $150-170 Bid $155 Rejected, but Saga was already full

The "orange" zone runs from:
BOS-KEF (or KEF-BOS), 5 hours: $230-270
KEF-CPH (or CPH-KEF), 3 hours: $175-205

The "yellow" bid zone runs from:
BOS-KEF (or KEF-BOS), 5 hours: $275-320 ** $275 accepted in both directions**
KEF-CPH (or CPH-KEF), 3 hours: $210-240 ** $225 accepted**

The "light green" bid zone runs from:
BOS-KEF (or KEF-BOS), 5 hours: $325-405
KEF-CPH (or CPH-KEF), 3 hours: $245-310

The "bright green" zone runs from:
BOS-KEF (or KEF-BOS), 5 hours: $410-485
KEF-CPH (or CPH-KEF), 3 hours: $315-370

Last edited by nologic; Mar 10, 2017 at 1:43 pm
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Old Mar 2, 2017, 11:58 pm
  #41  
 
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So the plot thickens. At T-73.5 hours, I just received an email that I have been upgraded for my 8AM connecting segment KEF-CPH.

My bid was $225, which as you can see from my post above, is in the middle of the "yellow" zone, and the lower middle of the total Saga bid range from $150-370.

At the time just before my bid, there were 7 seats bookable in Saga Class on this flight. Now, 15 mins after my upgrade has been confirmed, I can see 6 Saga seats bookable on this flight. So, so I think we can safely deduce that either no one else besides me on this flight bid to upgrade to Saga, or the airline was only accepting 1 upgrade seat and is holding back a minimum of 6 seats for sale between now and the 8AM departure in approx 73 hours.

I'm surprised that I would have been the only one to bid to upgrade; perhaps, in retrospect, I should have bid minimum ($150)?

I recall someone posting somewhere that few people traveling on Icelandair actually do bid to UG. Given this flight experience, this may indeed be true, which means you're not bidding to UG that much vs. other passengers...mostly vs. the minimum bid vis-a-vis the space available, assuming they actually accept the minimum bid (why publish it as a minimum if it's not a bid they would accept, although putting the minimum bid is a red zone seems is indicating that it's unlikely to be accepted).

My basic question remains: do they generally accept the minimum bid if they have seats and no one is bidding higher than you?

I'm on a $409 round-trip economy fare to CPH for 3 nights w a free 4 night stopover in KEF (my real destination is KEF -- CPH is a detour). Turns out the weekend in KEF is very busy due to the Northern Lights, and the country itself is very expensive, but that's an aside.

But 3 out of my 4 FI flights are very open in Saga, with both transatlantic segments showing 9+.

So, while this may be among the worst international "longhaul" business class flights in the world, with only 40" pitch AA-type domestic F seats...for $225-275/segment, it seems worth taking advantage of the extra Saga space and amenities, etc.

Looking at the total cost, I'm in for $409 + $275 + $225 + $275 (if my return KEF-BOS segment clears), so that's $1,184 for 4 segments BOS-KEF-CPH-KEF-BOS, with 3 out of the 4 segments in Saga.

I think that's a pretty good deal, net net, although I would certainly prefer a lie flat seat...but for 3-5 hours per segment, maybe I won't try to sleep much...instead, enjoy the meals and the movies and some wine, and relax and have fun...because the reality is that I wasn't going to spend $3K+ on a mainstream business class seat to take this trip, and frankly, I'm not a big fan of traveling like a sardine in economy, so I'll generally UG when I can for a "reasonable" amount.

Of course, flying trans-Atlantic BOS-KEF at 8:25pm for 5 hours and then connecting for another 3 hour flight from KEF-CPH at 8AM without much sleep is tiring...guess I'll hit the mattress hard in CPH (no plans that day).

Last edited by nologic; Mar 3, 2017 at 9:54 am
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Old Mar 4, 2017, 8:25 am
  #42  
 
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Thank you for this thread, nologic. I'm finding it very helpful. You mind me asking how you're figuring out open seats on FI? I'm struggling to deal with their website and the various cracks in their interface (seat requests entered for each flight, and yet I "have no seat requests").

I'm flying with someone allergic to milk--the food options make my eyes cross. Yogurt, Ham and cheese baguette, or cheeseburgers--yeah, Pringles it is, honey! *laughing*

Thanks again for your time and experiences.
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Old Mar 4, 2017, 9:35 am
  #43  
 
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Originally Posted by nologic
While this seems to be a running commentary mostly with myself, hopefully the info is helpful to future others.


Will advise as things progress.
Thanks, following along. Got a trip in July/August. Already have the econ+ fare in Saga class seats. Not sure if moving up is worth it.
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Old Mar 4, 2017, 10:19 am
  #44  
 
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Originally Posted by LadyShiva
Thank you for this thread, nologic. I'm finding it very helpful. You mind me asking how you're figuring out open seats on FI? I'm struggling to deal with their website and the various cracks in their interface (seat requests entered for each flight, and yet I "have no seat requests").

I'm flying with someone allergic to milk--the food options make my eyes cross. Yogurt, Ham and cheese baguette, or cheeseburgers--yeah, Pringles it is, honey! *laughing*

Thanks again for your time and experiences.
you can get a paid subscription to the KVS tool, which works quite well.

I just went to the flight and tried to book the max seats in Saga, which is 9 people. Then if it didn't let me book, I went down by one, until it allowed booking. So for my KEF-CPH segment, it would have allowed me to book 7 seats before my UG and 6 seats afterwards. Hope this helps. This method assumes they are not overlooking Saga Class, but it's the best indicator I know of general availability. I assume 9 seats or more is " pretty open." What we don't know os whether they really will accept the minimum bid in those cases.
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Old Mar 5, 2017, 9:59 am
  #45  
 
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When I did online check-in last night, I noticed that there we 8 additional unassigned seats on the 767-300 BOS-KEF (8/25) and 8 on my connecting flight from KEF-CPH (8/18), which turns out to be a 757-300.
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